Fail to answer questions directly and you'll have this man to answer to

What is Question Time for?

Question Time is, and always has been, a popular current affairs discussion programme which aims to give people an opportunity to scrutinise directly senior politicians and others who exercise power and influence at a UK level.

It successfully appeals not just to those viewers who have a strong interest in politics, but to a wider audience, which is why it is broadcast on BBC One.

More younger people watch Question Time than any other political programme on British television.

It is an article of faith for the programme that it is driven by members of the audience - David Dimbleby, as chairman, is their champion in getting answers from the politicians and in promoting lively debate - not just among the panel, but between the panel and the studio audience.

That is also why the programme is broadcast from all round the country, not just London and the other big cities - to make sure that a broad cross-section of licence-payers have the chance to take part directly and that a diverse range of British opinion is represented in the studio audience.

Do you try to get political opposites/ outspoken stalwarts on the same show to play against one another?

It's not a primary objective, though we do, of course, think about what you might call the "panel dynamics" - how different personalities might play off each other.

We are looking for a range of views - if all the panellists agreed on all the issues it would be rather dull.

However, some of the most interesting programmes have been where there have been unexpected and unlikely alliances between contrasting panellists - head-to-head argument all the time also risks becoming tiresome.

What are actors and comedians doing on Question Time - don't you think it lowers the tone?

As above, we are always looking to broaden the range of people on Question Time.

We seldom have people on simply because of their prominence as actor or comedian (in fact, there have been very few comedians on across the series) - invariably there will be a strong political or other dimension to them.

For instance, Adam Rickitt, who was on recently and is famous as a Coronation Street soap star, is also on the A-list of would-be Conservative MPs.

People apply through a phone number given on the programme or via the website.

They are then questioned about their views, voting intentions, background etc, in much the same way as an opinion poll.

From that, the producers select a broad and balanced cross-section.

If, from those applying in a particular area, they feel any group or view is under-represented, they will - occasionally - contact local groups to encourage their members to apply to be in the audience.

Why are Question Time audiences always biased in favour of left-wing policies?

They are not. As indicated above, they are selected to reflect a broad range of views right across the political spectrum.

It is, however, notoriously impossible to make a judgement about the overall views of an audience based on the noise they make or the levels of applause.

It is also impossible to force people to speak in favour of a particular view, even if you know they are in the audience and hold that view.

In fact, there has been more criticism recently that the audiences "sound" anti-government.

That is not because there are not people in the audience who support the government, but, in my view, because those people are less willing to air their views in public than those who attack the government.

Five years ago, the opposite was true. This says more about the climate of British politics, than it does about the balance of the Question Time audience - these are perceptions which tend to ebb and flow.